Construction Foreman
Salary

Men make up the majority of Construction Foremans in the United States, and the nationwide average salary in this area lies in the neighborhood of $20.82 per hour. Total incomes of Construction Foremans incorporate potential for, in a few cases, more than $5K from bonuses and close to $7K from profit sharing; these performance components cause packages to range between $34K and $78K. Location is the biggest factor affecting pay for this group, followed by career duration. Although the greater part have medical coverage and about one in three have dental coverage, two in five claim no health benefits at all. For the most part, Construction Foremans enjoy their work and report high levels of job satisfaction. The figures in this rundown are based on the results of PayScale's salary questionnaire.

XTotal Pay combines base annual salary or hourly wage, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, overtime pay and other forms of cash earnings, as applicable for this job. It does not include equity (stock) compensation, cash value of retirement benefits, or the value of other non-cash benefits (e.g. healthcare).

XTotal Pay combines base annual salary or hourly wage, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, overtime pay and other forms of cash earnings, as applicable for this job. It does not include equity (stock) compensation, cash value of retirement benefits, or the value of other non-cash benefits (e.g. healthcare).

Job Description for Construction Foreman

A construction foreman works in offices and on the site of construction zones, overseeing work and making sure everything is up to code and is being built safely and correctly. This job requires a good eye for detail, management skills, organization, leadership and the ability to read blueprints.

The work environment of a construction foreman is varied. They sometimes work in their offices in campers set up on construction sites, or in offices at the construction company they work for. They also work outdoors quite a bit monitoring the construction of buildings and structures. They often use scaffolds to see the tops of buildings and roofs and oversee that the employees are meeting safety regulations. They work along side of the construction workers that they supervise and sometimes the architects who designed the blueprints.

A construction foreman usually holds a college degree in either construction management, construction science or construction design. Although a degree in not always needed, most employees prefer it. Without a degree, a construction worker can still be promoted to construction foreman after about five years in the construction field. They must demonstrate that they have the skills to manage the other workers and be in charge of ordering the construction materials.

A typical construction foreman works from early morning to mid evening. They make the schedules for the construction workers and are in charge of when they work. They are allowed to give overtime if the project is running behind schedule. The construction workers report to the foreman when they come in to work and leave work. They usually enjoy paid vacation, insurance and sometimes a company truck depending on the employer. This job is usually full time and over 40 hours per week, but depends on the number of buildings being overseen.

Construction Foreman Tasks

Coordinate essential personnelon-site for the project.

Communicate and enforce all safety regulations.

Manage supplies, materials and equipment.

Plan, direct and budget activities concerned with the construction of structures, facilities or systems.

Read and interpret site plans, construction drawings and scopes of work.

Common Career Paths for Construction Foreman

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Compensation may increase greatly for Construction Foremans who advance to upper-end positions like Construction Manager. Median pay for Construction Managers is $73K per year. Construction Project Managers or Commercial Construction Superintendents are common next-step roles for Construction Foremans moving up in their careers; annual pay for Construction Project Managers is $19K higher on average, and it's $18K higher for Commercial Construction Superintendents.

Construction Foreman Job Listings

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Popular Skills for Construction Foreman

This chart shows the most popular skills for this job and what effect each skill has on pay.

Construction Foremans seem to require a rather large skill set. Most notably, skills in Welding, Contractor Management, Adobe Acrobat, and Blueprints are correlated to pay that is above average. The majority of those who know Blueprints also know Contractor Management and Machine Operation.

Pay by Experience Level for Construction Foreman

Median of all compensation (including tips, bonus, and overtime) by years of experience.

For many Construction Foremans, extensive experience does not lead to significantly more money. During the first five years of their careers, Construction Foremans see a median income of $42K. Survey respondents with five to 10 years of experience report an only modestly higher median of $47K. The average pay reported by folks with 10 to 20 years of experience is around $52K. Ultimately, more time spent in the workforce does seem to translate to bigger paychecks; seasoned veterans with more than 20 years of experience report a median income of $58K.

Pay Difference by Location

With a pay rate for Construction Foremans that is 32 percent greater than the national average, Los Angeles offers a comfortable salary for those in this profession. Construction Foremans can also look forward to large paychecks in cities like Boston (+28 percent), New York (+23 percent), Seattle (+22 percent), and San Diego (+20 percent). The lowest-paying market is San Antonio, which sits 27 percent below the national average, proving that location is a significant contributor to overall pay. Two other places where employers offer below-median salaries are Atlanta (16 percent less) and Orlando (12 percent less).